You are previewing premium content.  |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
Power plays 2003
We map the industry's major power plays.
What a year that was. From the rise of autonomic computing to the fall (and rise again?) of WorldCom, um, make that MCI, 2003 was some year for networking. What follows are some of the highlights.
• Autonomic computing
• MCI
• SCO takes on the Linux world
• The rest of networking
Vying for a piece of autonomic computing
2003 was the year that autonomic, or utility, computing came to the forefront. Some highlights:
March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December
| March 10 | IBM unveils three software modules designed to predict and respond to sudden increases in data center workloads. Read more |
| March 18 | Microsoft announces Dynamic Systems Initiative around self-managing data center software. Read more |
| April 7 | BMC Software lays out strategy for for integrated service management. Read more |
| April 29 | CA airs its on-demand computing strategy. Read more |
| May 1 | IBM announces storage virtualization products, software for pooling application servers, tools that make it easier to add
servers to increase capacity and balance server load, and "pay-as-you-grow" offerings for storage and blade server systems. Read more |
| May 5 | Veritas Software jumps on bandwagon, saying it plans to move into the server management market in part via technologies gained
in its acquisitions of Jareva Technologies and Precise Software. Read more |
| May 6 | HP maps out its "adaptive enterprise" strategy. Read more |
| May 12 | EMC and HP ready metered on-demand storage programs. |
| May 14 | IBM grabs Think Dynamics, maker of automated server provisioning software. Read more |
| May 22 | Microsoft plans to open up its nascent system definition model architecture, for simplifying data center management, so servers
running Linux and Unix can be part of a data center that employs the Microsoft technology. Read more |
| June 6 | IBM Tivoli unveils self-managing and -healing software for middleware servers and applications. Read more |
| June 16 | HP unveils more than 30 new and upgraded management products under its Adaptive Enterprise strategy. Read more |
| July 1 | CA delivers first network management software products aimed at supporting customers working toward an on-demand computing
model. Read more |
| Aug. 5 | HP, IBM and Sun back Tripwire, an effort to develop file signature data standards that could be important to auto-mated computing. Read more |
| Aug. 20 | Oracle adds grid computing capabilities to a new version of its application server software, part of a broader effort to revamp
its entire product line around the utility computing model. Read more |
| Sept. 3 | HP acquires Talking Blocks, a maker of Web services management software, as part of Adaptive Enterprise strategy. Read more |
| Sept. 10 | Oracle organizes a consortium to hammer out technology standards for grid computing in commercial environments; observers
expect this group to butt heads with those already developing grid standards. Read more |
| Sept. 22 | HP names Nora Denzel, head of the business software unit, to lead its Adaptive Enterprise efforts. |
| Sept. 22 | Sun provides outsourcing firm Affiliated Computer Services with pay-per-use server and storage resources. Read more |
| Oct. 1 | Sun follows ACS deal with a similar arrangement with outsourcing firm SchlumbergerSema. Read more |
| Oct. 10 | IBM teams with Cisco to develop standard ways of providing self-diagnostic and self-healing enterprise IT networks. Read more |
| Oct. 14 | Electronic Data Systems and management software maker Opsware initiate work on Data Center Markup Language, a standard for
describing various data-center components and interoperability. Read more |
| Oct. 27 | Dell President and COO Kevin Rollins largely dismisses all the talk surrounding high-level autonomic computing initiatives. Read more |
| Nov. 17 | As part of its Adaptive Enterprise vision, HP announces about 40 products and services for letting IT managers better integrate
management data, assign user access rights, manage heterogeneous servers and start to implement service-oriented processes
across their networks. Read more |
| Dec. 15 | EMC buys VMware, leading virtualization software maker, for $635 million. Read more. |
MCI struggles on
Few companies had as much of a roller-coaster ride in 2003 as MCI.
January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October
| Jan. 14 | New WorldCom CEO Michael Capellas outlines a 100-day plan, saying the company much approach this time with "an outrageous,
outrageous sense of urgency" focused on rolling out new products and forging alliances at the same time that it reorganizes
and puts into place a plan to emerge from bankruptcy. Read more |
| Feb. 3 | WorldCom slashs 5,000 jobs, most of them corporate and administrative positions, and lays out various other measures to cut
$2.5 billion in costs as part of CEO Michael Capellas' 100-day plan for emerging from bankruptcy. Read more |
| March 14 | Writes off $79.8 billion in goodwill and other assets. Read more |
| April 15 | WorldCom files three-year reorganization plan, which includes a corporate name change to MCI, with the bankruptcy court. Read more |
| May 2 | MCI confirms is has received around $300 million back in taxes paid when it was still called WorldCom and wildly overinflated
its earnings. Read more |
| May 19 | WorldCom settles fraud charges with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission, agreeing to pay a $500 million civil penalty;
wins court approval for the settlement in August. Read more |
| June 11 | Two reports stemming from investigations into the WorldCom accounting pin much of the blame on CEO Bernard Ebbers and the
culture he encouraged. Read more |
| July 1 | Sheds fixed wireless service assets in a $144 million deal with Nextel. Read more |
| July 3 | An angry WorldCom stockholder proposing a boycott of the telecommunications company receives more than 17,000 e-mail messages,
including 7,000 in one week, from supporters. Read more |
| July 8 | Cuts revenue projections over the next three years by $4.2 billion, or $200 million for 2003, $1.2 billion for 2004 and $2.8
billion for 2005. Read more |
| July 22 | Critics of WorldCom, renamed MCI, blast the bankruptcy reorganization plan during a U.S. Senate committee, saying it neglects
to punish the company for its past accounting fraud and puts competitors at a disadvantage in the marketplace. Read more |
| July 28 | AT&T alleges MCI intentionally rerouted voice calls through Canada to avoid paying access fees. MCI opens an investigation and begins cooperating with federal investigators. |
| Aug. 4 | AT&T files a second objection to MCI's reorganization plan, alleging that MCI intentionally and fraudulently rerouted voice
calls through Canada to avoid paying sometimes-hefty access fees to other service providers. Read more |
| Aug. 13 | Richard Roscitt joins as president and COO. Most recently, he was CEO of ADC Telecommunications. Read more |
| Sept. 2 | AT&T expands its claim that MCI is engaging in shady call-routing scheme with a civil suit against the carrier; MCI disputes
the charges. Read more and even more |
| Sept. 2 | Creates new board, appointing five respected individuals from the investment, consulting, legal and network industry communities. Read more |
| Sept. 9 | Reaches a settlement agreement with two principal creditors that had objected to the bankruptcy plan. Read more |
| Oct. 14 | Appoints its first chief ethics officer, Nancy Higgins, longtime corporate ethics executive. Read more |
| Oct. 31 | Judge approves reorganization plan, which will erase about $24 billion in debt, leaving $3.5 billion in net debt and $2.3
billion in cash. Read more |
SCO takes on the Linux world
The SCO Group burst into the headlines in 2003 by filing a billion-dollar suit against IBM for allegedly incorporating SCO code into Linux.
What is Tech Briefcase?
TechBriefcase is a new, free service where IT Professionals can Search, Store and Share IT white papers and content like this. Learn more
Bookmark content
Speed up your research efforts with content across the web.
Search and Store
Find the white papers you need. Create folders for any topic.
View Anywhere
Open your briefcase on your iPhone, tablet or desktop. Share with colleagues.
Most Read
Videos
Rss FeedLatest News
Rss Feed
-
Network World, Inc
The Connected Enterprise